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smacking it on top until it settled into correct, and extremely tight,
position. It pressed against Buck's temples and cheekbones. He started to put
the mouthpiece in until Abdullah reminded him,  Not until high altitude.
 Right. I knew that.
Abdullah fit just ahead of him, giving Buck the feeling they were on a luge,
Abdullah's head just inches from Buck's nose.
Taking a jet fighter from a staging area, out onto the tarmac, into line, and
then out onto the runway would have taken up to half an hour in the States.
Buck learned that in Amman, the airport was like the street market. No lines
or queues. It was first come, first served, and you were on your own. Abdullah
sang something into the radio about jet, charter, passenger, cargo, and
Greece, all while moving the fighter directly onto the runway. He didn't wait
for instructions from ground control.
The Amman airport had only recently reopened after rebuilding, and while air
traffic was down because of the plague of locusts, several flights were lined
up.
Two wide-bodies sat at the front of the line, followed by a standard jet, a
Learjet, and another big plane. Abdullah turned to get Buck's attention and
pointed to the fuel gauge, which showed full.
Buck gave a thumbs-up sign, which he intended to imply that he felt good about
having lots of fuel. Abdullah, apparently, took it to mean that Buck wanted to
get into the air" now. He taxied quickly around other planes, reached the
and
line of craft cleared and in line for takeoff, and passed them one by one.
Buck was speechless. He imagined if the other pilots had horns, they'd have
been honking, like drivers in traffic do to those who ride the shoulder.
As Abdullah passed the second wide-body, the first began to roll. Abdullah
slipped in behind it, and suddenly he and Buck were next in line. Buck craned
his neck to see if emergency vehicles were coming or whether the other planes
would just pull ahead and get back in their original order. No scolding came
from the tower. As soon as the big jet was well on its way down the runway,
Abdullah pulled out.
 Edward Zulu Zulu Two Niner taking off, tower, he said into the radio.
Buck fully expected someone to come back with,  Just where do you think you're
going, young man? But no one did.
 Ten-four, Abdullah, was all he heard.
There was no warming up and little building speed. Abdullah drove the fighter
to the end of the runway, lined her up, and punched it. Buck's head was driven
back, and his stomach flattened. He could not have leaned forward if he'd
wanted to.
Clearly breaking every rule of international aviation, Abdullah reached
takeoff speed in a few hundred yards and was airborne. He rocketed above and
beyond the jet in front of him, and Buck felt as if they were flying straight
up.
He was pressed back in his seat, staring at clouds. It seemed only minutes
later
Abdullah reached the apex of his climb, and just like that, he seemed to
throttle back and start his descent. It was like a roller-coaster ride,
blasting to the peak and then rolling down the other side. Abdullah mashed a
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button that allowed him to speak directly into Buck's headset.  Amman to
Athens just up and down, he said.
 But we're not going to Athens, remember?
Abdullah smacked his helmet.  Ptolemai's, right?
 Right!
The plane shot straight up again. Abdullah dug through a set of rolled-up maps
and said,  No problem.
And he was right. Minutes later he came screaming onto the runway of the small
airport.  How long with friends? he said, taxiing to the fuel pumps.
Rayford reassured Chloe, and they agreed they'd rather Floyd tell the truth
than sugarcoat it and run into problems later. But after he brought her water,
Rayford moved upstairs to talk to Tsion. The rabbi welcomed him warmly.
 Almost finished with my lesson for today, he said.  I'll transmit it in an
hour or so. Anyway, I
always have time for you.
Rayford told him of the potential complication with the baby.  I will pray,
Tsion said.  And I would ask you to pray for me as well.
 Sure, Tsion. Anything specific?
 Well, yes. Frankly, I feel lonely and overwhelmed, and I hate that feeling.
 It's sure understandable.
 I know. And I have a deep sense of joy, such as we get when we are in
fellowship with the Lord. I have told him this, of course, but I would
appreciate knowing someone else is praying for me too.
 I'm sure we all do, Tsion.
 I am most blessed to have such a loving family to replace my loss. We have
all suffered. Sometimes it just overtakes me. I knew this locust plague was
coming, but
I never thought through the ramifications. In many ways I wish we had been
more prepared. Our enemy has been incapacitated for months. Yet while we count
on them for so many things, like transportation, communications, and the like,
this has crippled us too.
 I don't know, he said, rising and stretching.  I don't expect to find
happiness anymore. I am looking forward to the birth of this little one as if
it were my own.
That will bring a ray of sunshine.
 And we want you to be another parent to it, Tsion.
 The contrast alone will be sobering though, won't it?
 The contrast?
 This fresh, young innocent will not know why Hattie is crying. Won't know of
our losses. Won't understand that we live in terror, enemies of the state. And
there will be no need to teach the little one of all the despair of the past, [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]